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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24343972">A Very Long Engagement</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/great_gospel/pseuds/great_gospel'>great_gospel</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood &amp; Manga</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>:), Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Post-Series, Pre-Series, Royai - Freeform, Young Royai, finally featuring the boys in a fic, i just want them to be happy ok, story time!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 06:15:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,141</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24343972</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/great_gospel/pseuds/great_gospel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>They had been together for a long time, after all.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Riza Hawkeye/Roy Mustang</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>45</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. 1905 - 1909</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Disclaimer: Never seen the movie from which this title is borrowed, but it seemed fitting.</p>
    </blockquote><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Her calling had always been linked to his.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em>1905</em>.</p><p><br/>
"Thank you for coming, Mr. Mustang,"</p><p>"You know you don't have to call me that."</p><p>Amber eyes glanced up to meet his, an unreadable look passing over. "I guess it almost feels like my father's shadow is still hanging over us." The young woman spoke of her father's passing with a quiet melancholy. The sorrow was perhaps not necessarily over the death itself, but over the man he had been. Conflicting feelings over Berthold Hawkeye were not new to her.</p><p>The pair stood before the gravesite a moment longer, before walking in tune back up to the deteriorating manor.</p><p>.</p><p>Riza rummaged around making tea before joining the newly minted soldier at her shabby dining room table. There was companionable silence for a few moments, until Roy decided to break it. A shaky exhale immediately caught her attention. "Riza, there's something I have been wanting to ask you for some time now."</p><p>He had her full, undivided attention. She encouraged him with a subtle nod.</p><p>"I… I don't know where to begin," he flashed her a sheepish grin. "I know a poor soldier like me doesn't have much to offer, but I still plan to take the state alchemist's test next month. Those research funds would allow me to live comfortably. And I'd be stationed somewhere in the city, away from all of this." He ran a hand through his ruffled locks, and then tentatively tip-toed his fingers across the table until they reached her own.</p><p>A gentle squeeze gave him the remaining courage to say what needed to be said. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that I've loved you ever since I was a boy of fourteen. And even as a solemn, sad little girl, I saw that fire in your eyes from the moment we first met. We were just children then, but you reluctantly became my partner in crime, my closest confidante, my best friend. And I want you to be my partner for all of our days, if you would have me." From his breast pocket, Roy pulled out a simple silver band, adorned with only a single, delicate gem. "I transmuted it myself," he tacked on in almost a whisper.</p><p>Riza looked into those cautiously hopeful black eyes, the same pair that timidly knocked on her front door and introduced himself as "Roy Mustang, alchemy apprentice" more than half a decade ago. She looked into those eyes and saw the man he'd become. A man grown from the boy she had always loved. The boy who walked her home from school, who coaxed her out of her shell, who showed her the what it was to care and be cared for. Her heart swelled at his words. She thought of the letters exchanged while he was off at the academy, and the tentative kisses that had been stolen in the months before he had left. There had only ever been him.</p><p>But she knew there was one last barrier before she could accept his proposal. One last obstacle from the past before she could build a future with him. She had already planned to show him, his words at the funeral solidifying what she always knew about her father's student. That the young man's heart was in the right place, and that he was worthy of her father's secrets.</p><p>She smiled at him reassuringly, that barely noticeable upturn of the lips he had come to recognize as her approval. In lieu of an answer, she told him, "There's something I must show you first."</p><p>Roy knew the confusion must have shown on his face, but his hope hadn't been tarnished at her enigmatic response. He knew that if Riza meant to reject him, she would simply state it. She wasn't one to mince words or mislead. He trusted her. So, slightly puzzled, he followed her into her old bedroom.</p><p>When she began unbuttoning her blouse, Roy sputtered. Averting his eyes like a gentleman, he exclaimed, "Riza, you don't have to-"</p><p>But she silenced him. "Roy, can I entrust my back to you?"</p><p>The young soldier lifted his gaze, and his face dropped in horror. Fingers reached out, almost without his permission, millimeters away from the skin of her back. His voice shook with emotion, "Riza, I'm so, so sorry." He knew Berthold could be a stringent man, who largely neglected his lonesome daughter. But this was a measure of cruelty he never thought the man capable of. Roy clenched his fists, anger seeping in and overtaking his grief. "I should have been here. I should have been with you."</p><p>Riza finally spoke. "What's done is done," her voice like air. Berthold hadn't exactly forced her. But she knew enough about the world to know that he would have had his way regardless of her agreement. And of course, a childish part of her thought that it might finally be a way to earn his approval, his love. Days of torturous inking sessions flashed in her mind, but she pushed them down like the bile threatening to rise up her throat.</p><p>She turned to face Roy, blouse clutched to her chest. "I want you to use it. For your dream," she said with conviction.</p><p>Roy looked at her with an immeasurable sorrow and simply took her into his arms. He tucked her head beneath his chin and held on tight. He hoped he could live up to being the man she thought he was.</p><p>Later, in the night, when they are curled up against one another, skin to skin, with only the blankets as a witness, she offers almost sardonically, "I hope you know, my answer was always 'yes'."</p><p>Roy didn't think he could love her any more.</p><p>.</p><p>Weeks later, she follows him into the army, and into the battleground.</p><p>When Roy first left to enlist, she had felt lost. Her one constant, torn from her grasp. They wrote to one another, and he promised to visit (and to one day whisk her away from this place), but their halcyon days of childhood were finished.</p><p>When he came back, in his military blues, she was scared he might be a different man. Though they kept up their correspondence, it had been over a year since they had seen each other in person. A lot could change in that time. They had both grown. But she soon found that he was the same sweet boy she'd known for years. If not taller and more handsome, and even more smugly aware of it than he had been in their youth.</p><p>So, when he spouted on about his dream of a better Amestris, she instantly felt that her calling was the linked to his. They were two sides of the same coin, after all. And as a girl of seventeen with no higher education, no work experience outside of the home, she had limited options.</p><p>She had accepted his proposal, but she did not want Roy to be their sole provider. She wanted to build up a life of her own as well, and be there to help him carry out his goals. Plus, years of tending to the decaying home (and a decaying father) taught her that she was not cut out for the life of a housewife.</p><p>Not wanting to worry Roy - or give him the chance to talk her out of it - she neglected to tell him of her enlistment. A small, childish part of her also wanted to surprise him with her accomplishment, and meet him on even ground.</p><p>These days, she wonders if she had told him outright, if things might have turned out differently.</p>
<hr/><p><em>1908</em>.</p><p> </p><p>"Major Mustang, do you remember me?"</p><p>Of course, as his fiancé, she hadn't necessarily meant it in the literal sense. But this desert, this war zone, made her almost unrecognizable to herself.</p><p>A million questions flash through his mind when he learns the true identity of The Hawk's Eye. But one resounding thought trumps them all. "I did this."</p><p>He hasn't dared ask about the ring. Or where he stands with her now. After all is said and done, he doesn't deserve her. Doesn't deserve the comforts of a warm home, the embrace of the woman he loves. After the havoc he's wreaked and the lives he's destroyed, he's unworthy of those comforts.</p><p>When she asks him to burn her, the last remnants of humanity still in him crumble.</p><p>"Let me be Riza Hawkeye on my own."</p><p>.</p><p>It's hard to know where they stand after the war. Both sent back to East City to be stationed there. He earns a promotion, and she awaits her official orders and summons.</p><p>They hadn't discussed it before this moment. But now she's standing here in his office, and he's offering her the opportunity to follow him. To shoot him in the back should he ever stray from the right path. To work towards bettering this country and someday paying for their sins.</p><p>In some twisted way, this is what she had wanted all along. The chance to work with him in achieving his dreams and carry a mantle of her own. This wasn't the path she wanted to take to get here, but it's the path she'll continue along. She'd follow him into hell, after all.</p>
<hr/><p><em>1909</em>. <br/>
<br/>
<br/>
Three quick raps on her new apartment door. Though out of uniform, she greets him as, "Sir."</p><p>Sir.</p><p>Lieutenant.</p><p>These new walls stand between them. Steeper and thicker than the walls he broke down when he first met the broken young girl, who'd lived her almost her entire life without a companion, without love.</p><p>She was now his personal adjutant, his bodyguard. Closer to him than anyone. And yet she was still leagues away.</p><p>At Eastern Command, he was the brash young upstart. Charismatic, smooth talking Lieutenant-Colonel Mustang. But here, words escaped him.</p><p>He wanted to reach out and touch her, hold her tight and never let her go. But he'd lost that right.</p><p>She looked at him for a long time before ushering him to a seat at the table and making her way into the kitchen. She returned with two cups of tea. His eyes told her thanks. And they held a million apologies she was tired of hearing. Her calloused hands met his across the table. "No more apologies. What's done is done. We can only work to atone ourselves from here. We cannot change the past."</p><p>He knew he couldn't argue with her. He'd never won an argument against her. Still, "Do you wish you could? Change the past that is." He held her gaze. "Change our past."</p><p>Riza rose abruptly and walked into the bedroom. She returned with a small, unadorned, wooden box. She lifted the lid to reveal a ring from what felt like lifetimes ago.</p><p>"I'm not giving it back, if that's what you're asking."</p><p>His dark eyes widened. Did he dare hope?</p><p>"This was given to me by the man I love. I know I can't exactly use it anymore, but it's precious to me. And it reminds me."</p><p>"Of what?" He implores, voice cracking.</p><p>"That I made a promise long ago to stand by his side. We never took the vows, but in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, was implied."</p><p>His blackened and burnt heart stutters to life. There's a new weariness and a heavy guilt that shrouds them now, but he thinks that with her at his side, they can face anything. He feels his eyes start to mist and squeezes her hand meaningfully.</p><p>"I can't wear it of course, and I can't have anyone finding it. So, I ask you a favor." She pushed the simple trinket in front of him. "Will you seal this box? Alchemically. I won't be able to look at it, but it's enough for me to know it's there."</p><p>His voice is thick with emotion when he speaks. "That man doesn't deserve you, never has. But he's trying to."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Lowkey wanted to end this with a happy Royai wedding, even though that almost feels out of character to me lol. Would Roy and Riza ever really let themselves have that happily ever after instead of making sure they were executed for their war crimes? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯</p><p>Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Please review. :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. 1920</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Perhaps they could claim a little sliver of happiness for their own.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Didn’t expect to write a part two, or to do it so quickly after posting the first part, but here we are! Pretty happy with this installment. Hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>1920.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>It comes as no surprise to teammates and comrades when they finally go public with their relationship. Well, not so much "go public" via an official announcement or even a small revelation to close friends, and more like a casual send out of wedding invites in the mail. And not surprising in the sense that onlookers had waited the better part of a decade to see the enigmatic relationship between one Roy Mustang and one Riza Hawkeye to finally come to fruition. But to do so with no warning or buildup whatsoever, not a word to their coworkers in the office, doubtless left certain individuals rather shell shocked to say the least.</p><p>Now, it had been some years since the Promised Day. Fuhrer Grumman, a few months ago, had quietly disbanded the anti-fraternization mandate, surreptitiously slipping it in amongst some other pieces of legislation. Again, with no large announcement preceding such an act.</p><p>Of course, these clandestine revelations, seemingly done so in order to subvert the ensuing attention and commotion, had the exact <em>opposite </em>effect.</p><p>So, it's of no surprise when, at precisely 0700 on Monday morning, Mustang's office is simultaneously bombarded with an irate long-distance phone call from Risembool from a certain former state alchemist, and a hoard of subordinates clamoring before Roy's desk. Riza is mainly surprised they all managed to be perfectly punctual this morning and that the newly minted father, Edward, is even awake at this hour.</p><p>Roy and Riza looked at each other and sighed. Maybe this hadn't been the best way to go about things. Subtlety was indeed one of their specialties, but it seemed their companions hadn't quite the same appreciation for it.</p><p>"Fullmetal," Roy spoke over the phone, "I'm going to have to call you back." High-pitched, indignant yelling could be heard over the line before Roy unceremoniously hung up.</p><p>Four new voices spoke up at once.</p><p>"Chief, what's the meaning of this?!"</p><p>"Is this some sort of prank?"</p><p>"Are you guys serious?!"</p><p>"How could you not tell us?!"</p><p>Hawkeye rubbed her temples and exhaled slowly. It was going to be a long morning. "Men," she spoke clearly and firmly, in her 'giving orders' voice. Said group of soldiers immediately snapped to attention - backs straightened and four pairs of heels clicked together in unison. "Now, what seems to be the issue?"</p><p>Havoc chimed in first, "Well, boss," he eyed both superiors warily, "Nothing other than the fact that you two sent out wedding invites over the weekend with no announcement!"</p><p>"I believe the invite <em>was</em> the announcement," Mustang quipped unhelpfully.</p><p>Breda spoke next, brandishing his envelope in the air as he exclaimed, "Are you guys being serious, or is this some kind of joke?!"</p><p>"Look at the lacing on that parchment, the scrawling calligraphy. The money spent on that kind of quality is no joke," Roy deadpanned. None of this seemed to be alleviating any of the confusion or frustration in the room.</p><p>"What we're trying to say, Sirs," Fuery piped up, "is when did all this happen? How come you never said anything in the office? Not that we're not elated at the news, now that we know it's true, but you left us all a bit blindsided."</p><p>Their commanding officer held a slight smirk on his face, amusement clear to those closest to him, which only served to drive his companions more mad.</p><p>"Come on, chief!" Havoc exclaimed. "Out with it already!"</p><p>Roy waved his hands placatingly. "Fine, fine." He turned to his fair-haired companion. "Well, Hawkeye, I guess the jig is up."</p><p>"I see that, Sir." Acknowledging their men, she commented, "Perhaps we had the wrong audience to try and go about this delicately." She looked each man in the eye. "The gist of it is - we're having a small ceremony and we want you all to attend. We kept it under wraps because we didn't want this announcement to be a big deal or distraction, and we wanted to keep the news amongst our small circle of friends as much as possible. You all, the Elrics, the Hughes, and a few others are all we're planning to have in attendance."</p><p>"Leave up to you, Hawkeye, to think your wedding wouldn't be a distraction to your loyal subordinates," Breda groaned fondly, smacking his forehead lightly.</p><p>"We've waited years for this!" Havoc grinned, finally somewhat appeased. "But when did all this happen? I mean, we all had our suspicions that there was something more between you two over the years," he admitted sheepishly. Fuery's cheeks grew pink, and the other men avoided eye contact. Muttering about 'office betting pool' were stifled. "But we didn't even realize you two were even dating, much less engaged!"</p><p>Roy looked positively smug. Much like a cat, who loved toying with his prey, he enjoyed having the upper hand and keeping others in the dark, keeping them guessing. It was a game he had built his entire career on. But, with these trusted few, he knew when it was time to be honest. Though he did love laughing at their tortured expressions. He made eye contact with Riza. A quick, silent conversation passed between them. She gave a slight nod.</p><p>"Alright boys," Roy started, "we'll tell you the whole story." Sighs of relief echoed around the room.</p><p>"We met when we were children. Berthold Hawkeye was my alchemy teacher." A few raised eyebrows at that. The team knew they had always been close and that they had been working together before any of them had joined the unit, but the pair had always carefully sidestepped questions about how they had actually met. Falman made a mental note that he'd won an old bet regarding just that; he'd had "childhood friends" pegged for years. That winner's pot was going to be so sweet.</p><p>Mustang continued, "When I met her, she was just a scrawny but plucky 11-year-old girl, who'd never had a real friend. I came to the Hawkeye Manor to master alchemy, but never did I think I'd meet my best friend and lifelong partner in that old, decrepit house." There wasn't a dry eye in the house after that comment, much to Riza's amusement. "When I was 18, much to my master's displeasure, I left to join the military, with plans to eventually take the state alchemist's test. I was a skilled alchemist by that point, but I hadn't yet learned flame alchemy. Riza and I had begun a budding relationship before I left. And we continued to write one another while I was in the military academy."</p><p>Young Fuery interrupted with a sniffle, "That's so sweet, sir!"</p><p>"Show us the ring, Mustang!"</p><p>Somehow anticipating this reaction, from her coat pocket, Riza pulled out that same old, wooden box from many years ago. She turned to Roy, who, with a clap, unsealed the box. She lifted the lid to reveal that simple silver band, just as beautiful as the day she first laid eyes on it.</p><p>The men shoved to get a good look at it, eyeing it eagerly. "You know, I expected something a little gaudier from you, boss," Havoc goaded, "but I'm glad you went with something more sleek and stylish. Though I'm sure you wanted to put a huge rock on Hawkeye's finger!"</p><p>Roy ruffled at the comment, rising to the bait. The men exchanged more barbs, meanwhile Falman turned to inspect the ring more closely, noting its craftsmanship. "Lieutenant-Colonel, do you mind if I...?"</p><p>"Not at all, Second Lieutenant." Riza carefully handed him the ring.</p><p>"It really is a fine piece of work. And very fitting for you, if you don't mind me saying so, Sir." He held the ring up and noticed the year inscribed on the inside.</p><p>1905.</p><p>Huh. "Is the ring an old family relic?"</p><p>"No, the General transmuted it for me."</p><p>"So what's the significance of the year?" Falman questioned. Based on their stories and their current ages, it couldn't be the year they met. It was a few years too late for that.</p><p>"That was the year he gave it to me."</p><p>The other men's sputtering came to a standstill.</p><p>"Wait. WHAT?!"</p><p>Breda did the math quickly in his head and then accosted Mustang. "You proposed to her 15 years ago?!"</p><p>"And what of it?" Mustang fired back.</p><p>"You guys have been engaged that long and managed to keep it hidden?!"</p><p>"That's why the box was alchemically sealed, wasn't it?" Fuery piped in.</p><p>"Yes," Riza confirmed. "It wouldn't do to have just anyone chancing upon it. Particularly when it's very clearly an engagement ring, and not a simple piece of jewelry."</p><p>"Wait- What-? How-?!"</p><p>"Use your words, Havoc," Roy chided.</p><p>"We just didn't realize you two had been together that long," Fuery stated. Realizing your commanding officers had been carrying on a secret relationship for over a decade, pulling the wool over higher ups' eyes, and keeping even their own squad guessing, and knowing that they were only coming clean about it now, to surreptitiously announce their wedding that had been fifteen years in the making, was a lot for one day. And it wasn't even 0730 yet.</p><p>Fittingly, Roy and Riza shared a secret smile between themselves. They couldn't really answer to that.</p><p>"Finish your story!" Havoc demanded. The others exclaimed in agreement.</p><p>"Alright, alright," Hawkeye spoke up. "However, I still expect a full day's paperwork completed after all of this. Understood?" The men nodded eagerly, for once not caring about taskmaster Hawkeye's demands. They were simply eager to finally get the dirty details on these two.</p><p>Hawkeye continued where Roy left off, "My father had never been a healthy man. But he became more fervent and obsessive in his research after his only student left, neglecting himself to a new degree." She glazed over the specifics, sparing them the uglier details of her past. "The General returned after his stint at the academy, to find a sickly old man in his deathbed. He passed that very night." Though it had been many years since, her men offered sympathetic gazes and a whispered "I'm sorry, Hawkeye." That their gut reaction was to comfort was very touching indeed. She didn't bother telling them their sympathies were misplaced, only offered a small smile in appreciation.</p><p>Roy took over again from there. "Though we'd been close throughout our childhood, and kept in regular contact through our letters, it had been over a year since we saw each other last. And the death of Master Hawkeye was another thing to add into the mix. I knew how I felt about her, I'd always known. But I was definitely nervous about seeing her again," he chuckled. "And nervous about popping the question, even though I knew she felt the same way. Thankfully, the answer was yes."</p><p>"What happened after that? You guys decided to put off the wedding so Hawkeye could join the military?" queried Breda.</p><p>"Not exactly."</p><p>They went on to describe how Riza had secretly joined the military and then found Roy again in Ishval. And, how after the war, scarred and broken, they put the needs of the nation above the needs of their own. And now, finally, years after the Promised Day, and after spending the past couple years fully engrossed in the Ishval Restoration Project, perhaps they could claim a little sliver of happiness for their own.</p><p>The men were appeased after their hour of story time and dutifully went to work with a spring in their step, and a cheerful whistle could be heard every then and again.</p><p>Riza was glad to have that sorted out. Finally alone, she shared a quiet moment with Roy in his office.</p><p>"You certainly have a flair for dramatics."</p><p>Roy put on his best innocent face. "Who, me?" He earned an eye roll for his antics.</p><p>"Well, you certainly didn't stop me, when we sent out the invites with no other commentary," he shot back.</p><p>Riza smiled. "Maybe I have a flair for dramatics too."</p><p>While they were on a roll of sharing secrets, maybe it was okay to break the office rules just this once, she thought, as Roy leaned in for what was more than just a companionate pat on the shoulder, certainly a PDA offense. Riza felt at peace.</p><p>Of course, that all came to a screeching halt when a mustachioed muscleman burst into the office, tears of joy streaming down his face, and shirt already half torn off. "My beloved General and Lieutenant-Colonel!" he exclaimed in that booming, emotional voice.</p><p>"Well, I know someone who has us both best when it comes to dramatics."</p><p>And with the phone ringing again, it was going to be a long morning for the happy couple. But, they could handle anything as long as they had each other. They had been together for a long time, after all.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope y’all appreciate that I went the happy route with this outcome lmao. Please let me know what you think!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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